Gymnastics Earns First Head-To-Head Win Over Temple Since 2008 With 411.4-400.4 Victory

Junghans leads Mids with three event wins

Chris Junghans won the floor exercise, parallel bar and all-around competitions on Saturday.

March 8, 2014

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy gymnastics team got back to its winning ways on Saturday versus Temple, as the 14th-ranked Mids knocked off the 18th-ranked Owls by 11.0 points in their first victory over their ECAC rivals since 2008. After a pair of close and hard-fought setbacks to William & Mary, Navy came out on Saturday and rode its senior captain Chris Junghans to a 411.4 to 400.4 win.

In his final regular season meet at Macdonough Hall, Junghans (Dunkirk, Md.) won the floor exercise, parallel bars and all-around events to lead the Mids. One week after notching his personal-best score in the floor exercise with a 14.35, the senior nearly duplicated his feat with a 14.3 effort on Saturday. Junior Eric Viscardi (Marietta, Ga.) tied Junghans for the top score in the event with a 14.3 score of his own. In his parallel bar win, Junghans tied his career-high with a 14.5 mark to outscore his nearest competitor and teammate Mitchell Larios (So., Frisco, Texas) by 0.25.

Behind these two event wins and a second place finish on the high bar, Junghans finished first in the all-around competition with a score of 83.2. He notched his final total courtesy of a 14.3 in the floor exercise, 13.0 on the pommel horse, 14.15 on the rings, 13.25 on the vault, 14.5 on the parallel bars and a 14.0 on the high bar. He defeated Temple’s Jon Rydzefski by 1.0 points.

Viscardi and Connor Westrick (So., Waterford, Wis.) rounded out Navy’s event winners on Saturday as Viscardi finished first on vault with a 14.4 effort. In pommel horse action, Westrick led a strong showing by the Mids as he earned a 14.65 score for his routine. Eric Morrison (So., Broomfield, Colo.) and Andrew Potts (So., Ellicott City, Md.) went 2-3 in the event with 14.25 and 14.1 totals, respectively.

The Mids also went 1-2-3 in the floor exercise (Junghans/Viscardi and Larios) and in the parallel bars (Junghans, Larios, Westrick).

Thomas Goodell (Jr., Hopkinton, Mass.) was Navy’s highest finisher in the rings as he was defeated by Temple’s Evan Eigner by a 15.0 to 14.4 margin.

As a team, the Midshipmen registered a 70.40 in the floor exercise, 68.40 on the pommel horse, 68.50 on the rings, 69.65 on the vault, 69.75 on the parallel bars and 64.70 on the high bar.

Navy will complete its regular season next Sunday, March 16 at Springfield College. The Mids and Pride will face off in an ECAC league contest at 1 p.m.